Flying-machine.



J. T. SIMPSON.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION map JULY 12. 19:0.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917;

6 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Witnesses l. T. SIMPSON.

FLYiNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, \QHJ- 1 2M835. Patented Feb. 6,1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses I A ttoreya J. T. SIMPSON.

FLYING MACHQNE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12. 1910.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Witnesses Attorneys.

J. T. SIMPSON.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED sun 12. 1910.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

6 SHEET S$HEET 4- Witnesses wzm fwzzw Attorneys.

l. T. SIMPSON.

LYING MACHINE.

I AP PLICATION FILED JULY 12, 19W. I 1,214,835 Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

. v 6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

WitneSse a:

LT. SIMPSON.

[LYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEIi JULY 12. 1910.

PatentedTeb. 6, 1917 6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

' These and further objects will appear from' arissa.

JOHN THOMA$ SHIIkSON, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 191%.

Application filed July 12, 1910. Serial No. 571,557.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. SIMPSON, a citizen of the United States, andresiding in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented a certain new and useful Flying-Machine, of which the followingis a specification.

The object I have in view is the produc tion of an aeroplane orheavier-than-air flying machine, which will have advantages instabilizing, balancing, starting and alighting. Further objects are toproduce means by which the motor may be started while the machine is onthe ground and to produce means for continuing flight, in the event of aportion of the propelling mechanism ceasing to operate, to stabilizewithout the use of the steering rudder, and also to stabilize bypowerful and certain mechanism independent of the strength of theoperator.

the following specification and accompanying drawings consideredtogether or separately.

In the drawings,

Figure lis the front elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention.

@Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same showmg it in the position itassumes when in flight.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of one wing tip, showing one of theailerons in place. Fig. 4 is a side elevation on an enlarged role of thecentrally located operating and controlling mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5, of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an elevation, on the same scale as the preceding two figures,of a pair of ailerons;

ailerons showing the latter .in one position.

Fig. 11 is a similar position show ng the ailerons in diii'erentposition.

Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view on a large scale of a portion of thecontrolling gear.

tion can be carried out withvany form of aeroplane.

In the drawings, 1 is the top plane, 2 is the bottom plane, such planesbeing superposed in the usual manner. 3 is the rear plane forcontrolling altitude and 4 is the front plane for the same purpose. 5 isthe frame. This frame is made of verticals and longitudinals as shown,with diagonal filamentous'tension members-to secure rigidity. This frameis lightly and rigidly formed.

The frame is supported upon front wheels 6- and rear wheels 77, therebeing four sets of such wheels, illustrated. The front wheels arearranged in pairs for the purpose to be described. The front wheels aresupported upon a sled like arrangement 8 forming skids, there being twoof such arrangements in the front, On the wing tips at the front areskids 9. These skids are for contact with the ground when alighting andare on a higher plane than the sleds S, consequently when these endskids are brought into action when striking the earth, it is apparentthat the apparatus must be inclined. For this reason the outside wheelsof each pair of front wheels are turned outward so that when they strikethey will strike perpendicular to their axis. These wheels are mountedupon a frame 10 pivoted to the sled and secured by an elastic member 11,which may be of rubber to permit the frame to pivot when the wheelsstrike the ground, and allow the load to be taken up by the sled. Therear wheels, which are not in pairs, but are two in numher, as shown,are mounted on similar frames and connected by the same form of elasticmember to skids 12. The rear wheels are on a higher plane than the frontwheels, as it is necessary in starting to incline the planes upward tothe proper angle.

lcbeing secured to a horizontal pivot at a point intermediate its ends.The forward plane 4 is mounted upon a pivot as shown and is controlledby a wire 14,- which passes over,

suita'ble'guide pulleys as shown and connects to the top and the bottomof the plane, the

central portion of the wire being connected to a section of chain whichpasses around a sprocket 15 (see Fig. 4). Therudders l6,

which are two in number, one above each of the rear wheels 77 aremounted upon vertical axes and are controlled by wires 17 which passaround suitable guide pulleys to the pedals 18 (see Fig. 4).

' In the preferred embodiment of my invention I employ a front propeller19 and a rear propeller 20, said propellers being mounted upon suitableshafts in alinement.

I also prefer to utilize a forward engine Y21 and a rearward engine 22,having shafts in alinement. 'The engines illustrated are. of

the horizontal, two cylinder, double opposed internal combustion type.Thekind of engine may be varied if desired. The shafts.

of the engines are, connected to the shafts of the propeller throughsuitable sprockets and a chain 23, the sprocket on the line with theengines being indicated by the character 24, and the sprocket onthe-line with the propellers being indicated by the character 40 25. Theengines, as shown, are below the bottom of the frame so as to make thecenter of gravity as low as possible and also to allow the operator tobe above the engine for safety, .while the. propellers are arrangedadjacent to the top of the frame.

. The ailerons 26, 27,. 2'8 and 29 are mounted adjacent to the wing tipsand are connected to suitable stabilizing mechanism utwhich will bedescribed. The operators seat 30 is mounted on the frame withinconvenient distance of the pedals and the enme. 1 prefer to employaplurality of motors or engines so that in the event of one of thembecoming inoperative. the machine can still remain'in flight byutilizing a" certain mechanism which I will (lesc1'ibe. I also prefer toemploy a plurality of propellers for the same purpose, namely, so thatif one 69 engine is disconnected one of the propellers may also bedisconnected. These propellers I prefer to arrange in alinement onebehind the other, so that if one is disconnected the apparatus may bepropelled by the other, which is notpossible if two propellers were bothclutches aredisengaged, and one or the used upon .difierent verticalplanes. -The mechanism for connecting the engines to the propellers isbest shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The sprocketQd in alinement with the en-;gine-is mounted upon a short shaft 31 in 7i) suitable bearings carriedby the frame. On each extremity of this shaftis a clutch, the forwardclutc being'indicated by the character 32 and the rearward clutch by'thecharacter 33. It is apparent that by actu- 7b ating both of theseclutches both engines will be connected to the sprocket 24 and" that ifboth are diseng'aged the sprocketwill not be rotated, and the sprocketmay-be rotated by either one or the other ofthe' engines, which dependsupon whichclutch is actuated, These clutches are controlled by levers 34.34 within convenient reach of the operator while seated. I

The sprocket 25,;which is in alinement with the shafts of thepropellers, is mounted alsoupon a'short shaft 35, the ends of which areprovided with a forward clutch 36 and a rear clutch 37, these clutchesconnecting with therespective forward and rearward so propeller shafts.These clutches are controlled by suitable levers 38, also within con.-venient reach of the operator. It is apparent that both propellersmay berotated by the sprocket 25 when both clutches are en-,95

gaged and that neither will be rotated it,

other would be rotated, asde'pends upon whether the forward or rearwardclutch is actuated. By this improved apparatus it is apparent that theengine may be started when the apparatus is on the ground and with bothof the lower clutches 32 and 33 disengaged the propellers will remainatv rest. -After the engine is started and is in rotation, one or bothof the'propellers may be brought into action and. rotated by one or bothof the engines by actuating the suitable clutches. It is alsbapparentthat if one or the other engine goes wrong or'breaks down, or becomesdisabled,- that the other engine and propeller can be coupled to gether,the combinations of arrangements permitting either or both propellers tobe operated byeither or both engines. As the rear propeller 20'mustoperate in the air forced backward by the forward'propeller '19, it isapparent that the pitch of this. propeller should be greater than thepitch of the forward propeller, as depends upon the size and speed ofthe propeller.

The propeller shafts and upper shor shaft 35 are mounted in suitablebearings and the hearings on the upper shortshaft and the bearings ofthe lower short shaft are connected together by a pair of radius I tubes3939, such tubes being provided with-" adjusting sleeves 40 to secureproper adjust ment for the chain. -'l-hese tubes have openings at thetops and bottdms for the'enarness mechanism-as will be described,

The frontplane 4,-as has been stated, is controlled by the sprocket 15.This sprocket is mounted in suitable bearings'on a shaft which carries apinion 41. This pinion en gages with a rack 42, mounted upon a shaft 43,said shaft being mounted in bearings so that it can be movedlongitudinally to rotate the pinion 41 by engagement with the rack, andthereby control the vertical steering of the apparatus. The rear end ofthe shaft 43 is provided with a. hand wheel 44, by means of which theshaft may be moved longitudinally within its bearings. The shaft 43 alsocontrols a portion of the stabilizing device as will be described.

The stabilizing device includes means for operating the ailerons 26, 27,28 and 29 and consists of mechanism of a semi-automatic nature, and alsostandby mechanism to be manually operated. The semi-automatic mechanismincludes a device controlled by the position of the operators seat, andincludes an engineoperated by compressed air, which is furnished by thepropelling mechanism. The standby mechanism is controlled by the wheel44. The details of the semi-automatic mechanism are as follows: The seatis so mounted upon its support that it will be swung from side to sideby the .involuntary or instinctive movementsof the operator, resultingfrom inclinations of the machine. The support for the seat is by meansof a shaft 45, the seat having a depending arm 46. Suitable stops 97 onthe standard 98 are provided to limit the extent of movement of theseat. To this arm are connected wires 47, which in turn are connected tothe controller of the air engine 48 (see Figs. 13 and 14). This airengine is composed of a cylinder 49 with stufiipg boxes atthe ends, asshown, a piston 50 traversing the cylinder and .a piston rod 51connected to the piston and passing. through the stuffing boxes. Theends of this rod arev connected to a frame 52 which slides in hearingson the cylinder, as shown, and is provided with a rack which engageswith a pinion 54. for the air engine comprises a valve 55, controlled byan arm 56. To this arm the wires 47 connect and serve to move it fromright to left or vice versa. This valve is of the four port type, theair entering through the pipe 57 and passing through the side pipes 5858to one or the other side of the piston 50, as depends upon the positionof the valve. ,The exhaust or outlet 59 is opposite the inlct pipe 57.The ports 60 inthe valve are shown as narrower than the pipes 5858, forthe purpose of allowing a cer-- The controlling mechanism.

tain amount of lost motion; in other words, when the arm 56 is in thevertical position, in the embodiment illustrated, the ports will beclosed and will not be opened until the arm has partaken of considerablemovement one way or the other. When they are opened they will hesuddenly opened, consequently the engine will not operate until the seathas been tilted to some extent. When ment of the seat. By this structuresudden fluctuations of the engine will not be caused by trivialmovements of the seat.

Turning now to Figs. 4 and 5, it is seen that the pinion 54 is mountedupon a shaft 61 mounted in suitable bearings, the forward end of theshaft carrying a sprocket '62 having a length of chain intermeshed withits teeth which, through the wires 63, and a short length of chain willconnect with asprocket 64 mounted upon the shaft 43. This sprocket iscarried upon a sleeve 65 (see Fig. 12) such sleeve being connected tothe shaft 43 by a feather or other device to cause the two to rotatetogether and at the same time. to permit the shaft to be movedlongitudinally. This sleeve is mounted in a bearing 66 so that itslongitudinal position is fixed. The sleeve 65 carries drums 67 and 68over which are wound wires 69 and 70 respectively, thesewires connect tothe ailerons 26, 27 28- and] 29 in a manner which will be described, sothat when the shaft is rotated in one direction, the upperaileron on onewing tip and the lower aileron on the opposite wing tip will be openedand when rotated in the opposite direction the other two ailerons willbe similarly affected.

From this description it will be apparent that as the seat is oscillatedupon its bearings by the involuntary movement of the operator, the airengine 48 will be similarly actuated and through the wires 63 the shaft43 will be turned. This will produce a semiautomatic stabilizing of theapparatus. The

stand-by control will be in the wheel 44.

In order to avoid the drag of the air engine when the stand-by apparatus.is in action, I provide a clutch 71 on the shaft 61 to dis connect thesprocket 62.

Fig. 12 illustrates an arrangement in whichthe operator can keep hishands upon the wheel 44 to secure the proper longitudinal movement ofthe shaft 43 and at the same time be within instant grasp of the standbystabilizer. This is accomplished by mounting the rim of the wheel 44 inbearings 72 on an inner, su )plemental rim "3, such supplemental rimeing connected to the shaft [43. in ordinarynse, when the semi-automaticmechanism is in operation, the 0138119601 will rest his hands on theperiphery of the wheel 44. When, however,

the standby mechanism is in operation lie will close his fingers aroundthe inside of the sup leinental riin 73 and thereby rotate the sha t 48.

I be provided with disconnecting mechanism not shown, and the tank 74may be provided with a relief valve not shown. The tank 74 is balancedby. a tank78 which may contain lubricating oil. The asolene'or otherfuel is carried in the tan is 79, which are arranged higher than theengines for, proper feed to the carbureters.

The ailerons 26, 27, 28 and 29, are mounted as before stated, adjacenttothe wing tips of the main planes 1 and 2. These ailerons are made asfollows: Diagonal tubular struts 80 and 81 are provided, such strutscrossing at the center and forming an X frame, their ends beingconnected to the frame To the forward sections of these struts arepivoted the ailerons, each aileron is made of two plates 82, which maybe made of any material sufiiciently light and rigid for the purpose,and are provided with hearings or hinges 83, on forward parts of thestruts 80 and 81. These plates are adapted to be turned upon theirhinges so they may lie in a generally fore and aft position as shown insolid lines (see Fig. 7

or they may be turned upon their hinges and opened, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 7, the apparatusbeing analogous to the opening or closingof an umbrella. The opening and closing'mechanism is identical for allof the ailerons. It comprises a sleeve 84 mounted to slide upon the rearhalves of the struts or 81 respectively, said sleeve being connected bytoggles 85 to the plates. It is apparent that by moving the sleeve alongthe strut in one direction or the other, the aileron will be opened orclosed. The

pressure of the air will tend to close the aileron, but this pressuremay be augmented by a spring 86. .The sleeve is moved to open theaileron against the pressure of the air by suitable wires 69 and 70,such wires being connected to theirrespective sleeves. Each wire passesover a pulley 87 (see Fig. 6) so as to. get the proper lead, and alsoover a pulley 88 on the frame 5, so as to lead to the drums 67 and 68.The arrangement of the wires is best illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. Itwill be apparent that the upper lefthand aileron 28 is connected to thewire 69 and that the lower lefthand aileron 29 is connected to the samewire, and that the upper righthand aileron 27 is connected to the wire70, and the lower corresponding right hand aileron 26' is connected tothe same Wire. At an intermediate point he misses tween the pulleys 88and the drums 67 and 68 are mounted pairs of guide pulleys 89, suchpulleys being relatively close together. Between each two pulleys of apair is mounted a pulley or tackle block 90 through which the Wire isthreaded, and the tackle bloek'90 is connected to the frame 5 by aspring 91. These springs need not be very powerful as they are simplyfor the purpose of taking up the slack in the wire. It is apparenttherefore that when the shaft 13 is rotated in one direction or theother by the mechanism already described, the upper aileron on one sideand the lower aileron on the other will be opened, while the two otherailerons will remain closed. It is also apparent that'when the shaft 43is in neutral position that all four ailerons will be closed. As anexample of this operation, the working of the two ailerons 28 and 29 maybe followed. The shaft 43 being rotated' in the direction of the arrowshown in Fig. 10 the upper portion of the wire 69 will be tightened,opening the aileron 28.

The aileron 29 being already: closed the slack wire moved in thatdirection will be taken up by the pulley 90 and spring 91. At the sametime that the aileron 28 is opening the aileron 26 will also be openingby the wire 70 acting in the same manner. When the shaft 43 is reversedthe action shown in Fig. 11 will be followed, namely, the ailerons 27and 29 will be opened, while the ailerons 26 and 28'remain closed. Ifdesired each aileron may have but one plate, instead of two. The wiresmay be so roportioned as to length and position on t eir drums, that theaileron on one side may begin to open slightly in advance of that on theother, and remain in a slightly more open position, so that stabilizingmay take place without sidewise deflection and consequent employment ofthe rudders 16-46.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a modification of my invention in which threepropellers, are employed and inwhich both rear and front planes arecontrolled together. The forward propeller 92 is mounted as described inthe precedingembodiment of my invention, but in lieu of a single rearpropeller two propellers 93 are employed; These propellers are connectedb ,chains 94 to the sprockets 95, these sproc ets being connected to theshort shaft already described by the clutch there shown. By thisarrangement it is apparent that instead of the single rear propellerbeing rotated there will be two rear propellers both rotated at the samespeed and in thesame direction, or bymeans of crossed chains in oppositedirection, T hcse propellers may be used as the regular propollingmechanism, the propeller 92 being employed as a standby and beingallowed to remain idle while the machine is being propelled bypropellers ass-ea Should either 7 sets of propellers. If the situationdemands it, all these propellers may be operated at the same time.

The vertical meering mechanism illustrated in Fig. 9 differs from thatalready described in that the, rear plane 3 freely moves and iscontrolled by wires 96, which pass around suitable guide pulleys and areconnected to the forward or front plane 4, the

wires being crossed as shown so that the rear plane will tip up as theforward plane dips down. I

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I havedescribed the principle of my invention, together with the apparatuswhich Inow consider to represent the best'embodiinent thereof; but Idesire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merelyillustrative and that the invention can be carried outin other ways.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A flying machine having stabilizing planes, semi-automatic mechanismoperating the same, stand-by mechanism interconnected with said semiautomatic mechanism, said stand-by mechanism includi'ng'a wheel,

and a rim loosely mounted to'turn upon the wheel.

2. A flying machine having an air engine, devices for controlling theengine, a shaft turned by the engine, a second shaft, connections to thetwo shafts, drums on the second shaft, stabilizing planes, connectionsbetween the drum and thestabilizing planes, the connections to thesecond shaft and drums permitting longitudinal movement of the saidshaft, connections controlled by the longitudinal movement of the secondshaft for effecting the dip of the machine, and a manual controllingdevice for effectin longitudinal movement of the second sha t.

3. A flying machine having a' longitudinally movable shaft, a wheel onthe shaft, said wheel having a 'rotatable rim, connections between thewheel and rim to permit the rim to rotate'independently of the wheel,automatic mechanism for turning the shaft, a disconnecting mechanism forthe automatic mechanism, and mechanism for controlling the dip of theflying m'achine actuated by the longitudinal movement of the shaft.

4. An aileron having a pair of plates, each the shape of a right angletriangle, and each hinged along a side adjacent the right angle to acommon axis.

5. A flying machine having a frame with X-members, a plate pivoted toturn about one member as an aims, a sleeve sliding on the other memberand connections between the sleeve and plate.

6. A flying machine having an aileron for ascent and an aileron fordescent adjacent to leach wing tip, each aileron being formed of twoplates mounted to turn on an. inclined axis, the axes of each pair ofailci ans being at an angle to each other, wires connc. ng

.the ailerons, and means for moving an upper aileron on one tip and alower aileron on the opposite wingtip simultaneously.

, 7 A flying machine having a pair of folding ailerons adjacent to eachextremity, and one above the other such ailerons normally remainingclosed, means for simultaneously opening the upper aileron of one pair,and

. the loweraileron of the opposite pair, said means operating to allowall the ailerons to remain closed or to open not more than one of each"air at one time. v

8. A ying machine having a-frame of X- members, a plate, pivoted to turnabout each member as an axis, a sleeve sliding on each member, andconnections between the sleeve on one member with the plate on the othermember. 7 v i 9. A flying machine having a frame of X- members, aplurality of plates pivoted to turn about each member as an axis, asleeve sliding on each member, and connections be tween the sleeve onone member and the plates on the other-member. 1

10. A flying machine having a frame of X-members, a plate pivoted toturn about each member as an axis, a sleeve sliding on each member,connections between the sleeve on one member with the plate on the othermember, and means for manually moving the sleeve in one direction andmeans for automatically moving the sleeve in the opposite direction.

11. A flying machine having a frame of X-members, a pluralityof-plates'pivoted to turn about each member as an axis, a sleeve 12. Aflying machine having-a frame of X-members, a plurality of platespivoted to turn about each member as an axis, a sleeve sliding on eachmember, connections between the sleeve on one member and the plate onthe other member, means for manually moving the sleeve in one direction,and a spring for automatically moving the sleeve in the oppositedirection.

13. A flying machine having a sustaining plane, a frame of X-membersadjacent to each cxfremityci 'saflc'l;plane, a plurality of positions atan engle tn the direction of plates pivoted t'o turn" about a member of'movement .of the machine. v 1 each frame as an axis, said platesnormally This specification signed and witnessed lyin'g parallel to thediifection of movement this Qth-day of July, 1910.

Sj' f t'he mach ne, a-sleeve carried 0n the other JOHN THOMAS SIMPSON.inembef'of each frame, and means for mov- WVitnesses: ingjhe Sleeve'to'simnltaneously move the LEONARD H. DYER, plates on' each si clc'ofthe sustaining plane to JOHN L. Lo'rscn.

